Add a pinch of salt and mix well with a fork. Then add 3 or 4 times the amount of oil as vinegar, depending on your personal taste.

Divide the vinaigrette among smaller, individual bowls that will be served to each of your guests for dipping the vegetables before eating them.

Food History

The word pinzimonio refers to the Italian habit of dipping seasonal raw vegetables into an olive oil sauce. Vegetables, like fruit, have been consumed by man as far back as prehistory. Vegetables were a part of the diet of all the ancient Mediteranean cultures, especially Roman. The Romans believed that the most virtuous citizens kept a modest, vegetable-based diet. During the Middle Ages, vegetables were considered a food of the common people and no longer appeared on the tables of the high courts of Europe, except for those in Italy where they continued to be valued. The birth of the pinzimonio came during the Renaissance. At the time, raw vegetables were used to garnish more elaborate preparations and were consumed after dipping them into the sauces of the other dishes.